SPORTS OF THE TIMES; Next: Coughlin Could Bump Thomas From the No. 1 Hot Seat in New York

By HARVEY ARATON

Published: November 27, 2007

It appears to be that time of year again, when the Meadowlands wind starts whipping and the leaves are almost done falling, and Tom Coughlin's jaw starts dropping as he watches Eli Manning throw incomprehensible pass after pass and wonders, Is this all there is?

Coughlin's open-mouthed and red-faced expressions, captured so artfully by the network television cameras, typically disclose what he has to be thinking -- no matter how much he plays the myopic football coach, claiming to be lock step with his quarterback, focused solely on the proverbial opponent ahead.

Who would blame him for letting the occasional dark thought intrude after Manning threw four interceptions, three of them returned for touchdowns, during the Giants' 41-17 home-field embarrassment Sunday against Minnesota? How can Coughlin not ruminate about the future -- his coaching future -- given the challenging five-game stretch that the Giants face after fattening up on the Pop Warner portion of their schedule?

''The first of a five-game season,'' he called this Sunday's game in Chicago. ''This is the real test here.''

What would failure mean? How do the Giants define it? Barring a collapse of Amazin' (Mets) proportions, they are likely to reach the playoffs for a third straight season, but even the Good Family Mara may have difficulty making a case for more Coughlin after leading the Giants to a 9-7 or 8-8 finish and another thank-you-for-coming wild-card dismissal.

In terms of achievement, it must be said that Coughlin, albeit without a playoff victory, has far more credentials than the coach currently atop the metropolitan area's ever-changing most endangered leader's list. But across the river at Madison Square Garden, Isiah Thomas is the beneficiary of a feckless employer or a pending legal appeal in the Knicks' costly civil case.

Every franchise invariably tailors its interpretations of failure and success to its own set of expectations and expenditures, even if it defies rational judgment. Joe Torre was surgically removed from the Yankees' dugout after a run of 12 playoff seasons and four championships. The Red Bulls of Major League Soccer sent their coach, Bruce Arena, packing earlier this month after making the playoffs. Willie Randolph barely survived as manager of the Mets one year after skillfully leading them to within a game of the World Series. He will be on a short leash in 2008.

If anything unites the New York metropolitan area teams these days, it is championship envy. The Patriots and Red Sox are lording over football and baseball, and the Celtics are finally rearmed, dangerous and possibly ready to challenge for a 17th N.B.A. title. While Boston sets a competitive standard, New York/New Jersey is becoming the graveyard of championship hope, and coaching careers.

Eric Mangini had Jets fans hailing his rookie-coach Manginuity last season, but he now invokes cries of disgust and memories of Dick Kotite.

Next door, Lawrence Frank coaches a Nets team that has never achieved to the level of his predecessor, Byron Scott. But he is probably in good standing for as long as he has the support of Jason Kidd.

In the Bronx, Joe Girardi relieves Saint Torre at a time when no one can be sure what Hank (''I'm not going to waste Joba as a setup guy, period'') Steinbrenner will be like to live with over the long, hot summer.

That said, if Thomas somehow survives, Coughlin could soon be back where he was last winter, on the hottest seat in town, even as he sits snugly in excellent wild-card position. When all is said and done, his fate will ultimately be tied to whether Manning can rebut the belief that he plays smaller as the games get bigger.

Manning is Coughlin's enigma wrapped in a riddle, exasperating the coach similar to the way Eddy Curry does Thomas, with his overall lethargy that defies the quickness and agility he displays when he has the ball deep in the paint.

What is the problem? A lack of energy, emotion or (what the attendant coach would be loath to admit except to himself) a natural athletic instinct or I.Q.?

Manning heard the usual questions yesterday about his calm-to-comatose demeanor during Sunday's game and after it. He patiently answered them all, as he always does, in bland character. He said he didn't like to let the opposing defense see his frustration when a game was going poorly, adding: ''The postgame press conference isn't the problem. It's what's going on on the field that needs to be corrected.''

But does Manning have what it takes to be what he was drafted to be: a franchise quarterback who can lead or carry Coughlin's team for the next five weeks with injuries nagging his key receiver (Plaxico Burress) and muddling the running game?

These handicaps overwhelmed him Sunday against the league's worst pass defense. And now comes December, a very cold and cruel month last season. The Giants probably need to win two games to make the playoffs. Even one might get them in again at 8-8. But is this all there is?

For Coughlin's sake, the answer had better be no.

PHOTO: Coach Tom Coughlin watched the Giants endure an ugly loss Sunday. Did it put his job in jeopardy? (PHOTOGRAPH BY BARTON SILVERMAN/THE NEW YORK TIMES)